


friendships & what the heart wants

by huihao_ai



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: M/M, cheol crushing hard, friends to lovers minwon, idk what to tag anymore, my fave ships uwu, pls read huehe, slightly tsundere Hao, theyre all adorable pls, very smol angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:33:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24715378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huihao_ai/pseuds/huihao_ai
Summary: Jun likes Minghao and Minghao..doesn’t like him. At first.Seungheol is obsessed with Jeonghan’s hair.And Wonwoo and Mingyu.. Is something going on between them?
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Yoon Jeonghan, Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu, Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 4
Kudos: 99
Collections: Seventeen OTPs





	1. you're the one my heart beats for

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry for the lame title and summary.. This is a work of fiction, and characters might be different to how they are in real life. Also, I edited this myself so please forgive any mistakes. Enjoy reading!

“Where is Mingyu?” Seungcheol asked, looking at his watch for the tenth time that minute.

The door opened, and six feet of clumsiness stumbled in, followed by Mingyu’s “I’m here! I’m so sorry, the bus.. I’m here!” He caught up to them, grinning wide and breathing slightly heavy from running across the street to the moviehouse where they all agreed to meet to watch the latest Ironman movie.

Wonwoo wordlessly shoved a water bottle at Mingyu who smiled widely as he drank. Seungcheol and Minghao, who were beside them, shared a quiet look before they queued up for tickets.

“Hao!” a deep voice rang through the crowd just as the four of them were entering the cinema. Minghao, realizing who that voice belonged to, didn’t even look in the direction where it came from (and the boy’s waving arms) and hurriedly ushered in his friends. “Don’t look at him,” Minghao snapped.

The boy, Jun, pouted as Minghao seemingly ignored him and went inside. He shrugged; he’ll probably see Minghao inside anyway, he thought as he bought his own ticket.

Once inside, Minghao groaned. “Why did we have to pick Ironman? He likes Ironman!” He whined.

Seungcheol eyed him with a grin. “You act all annoyed by his presence yet you know what he likes, huh?”

“Shut up. He is annoying, and I knew because have you seen his phone case, his shirts, and his freaking locker wallpaper?” Minghao retorted.

“Well, it’s not like we pay that much attention to him like you do,” Mingyu answered with a cheeky smile.

“I’m not paying - Nevermind. Let’s just find some seats,” Minghao said, looking back out the door. He can see Jun’s blond hair as the latter lines up for his ticket from when a group of teenagers pushed past the door. He quickly turned back around and they all sat down.

Wonwoo sat at the farthest, as usual. Mingyu sat beside him, as usual. Seungcheol and Minghao followed, and they all began stuffing their faces with the popcorn they bought as the commercials rolled in.

Two hours later, they were standing in the movie theater lobby, deciding where to go next.

“It’s only half past eight. How about dinner?” Seungcheol suggested.

“Yeah, I’m starving,” Mingyu commented.

“You ate more than half the large bucket of popcorn, Gyu,” Wonwoo teased.

“Hao Hao!” As if on cue, the four of them turned back to see Jun, a tall Chinese boy who dyed his hair blond last week, grinning as he speedwalked towards them.

“Hey guys,” Jun greeted them. Wonwoo and Mingyu grinned at him. Seungcheol wrapped an arm around him in a sort-of hug. Minghao let out a sigh.

“So, how was the movie?” Seungcheol asked him. Jun’s eyes lit up as he talked about Starks and suits and CGIs. 

“Nerd,” Minghao muttered jokingly.

“I know right! It’s great!” Jun grinned widely at him and Minghao was reminded of a wolf. A really tame one. Because Jun might look intimidating but he’d run away from bees. Not that Minghao knew, or cared.

“Hey, Jun, we’re headed for dinner. Wanna join us?” Mingyu said, and Minghao’s eyes widened because why did Mingyu have to do that? Jun’s entire face brightened but he hesitated, looking at Minghao for confirmation, the three others following suit.

“Fine,” Minghao said, eyes fixed on the ground. He heard a low hiss of “yes!” coming from Jun, and he ducked his head down to hide a smile.

**

The five of them were sitting on the grass under a big oak tree on campus. Wonwoo has his head on Mingyu’s shoulder, half asleep while Mingyu scrolled through his phone, bursting into laughter every now and then, startling Wonwoo. Minghao is trying his best to ignore Jun, who was sat next to him, and failing miserably. 

(“Why are you here?” Minghao asked as Jun plopped himself down on the grass next to him.

“I’m hanging out with you guys,” Jun flashed him a smile and a wink.

“What part of ‘stay away, I don’t like you’ did you not understand?” Minghao deadpanned.

“I might have been too busy staring at you to understand what you said,” Jun said cheekily. 

Seungcheol just laughed at them. In the end, Minghao let him stay, but only because Jun offers him chips and lets him watch a movie on Jun’s phone. He was slightly bothered by the crumbs flying while Jun talks, though. Doesn’t the guy have manners? He doesn’t comment on it.)

Seungcheol alternates between side-eyeing the two and looking out at the soccer team practicing on the field, munching on popcorn. 

It was a fairly peaceful twenty minutes before shouts came from the field and a soccer ball made its way straight for Seungcheol’s head. There was a rather loud thud and Seungcheol swore he could see stars as he clutched his face in pain.

“I’m so sorry, I think I kicked too hard. Dude, are you okay?” A voice came from above him, a hand on his arm. It was a few seconds before Seungcheol sat up, blinking his eyes and the first thing he saw next was an angel.

Literally. The guy was wearing a white soccer uniform, shoulder-length hair tied messily into a ponytail. His face was etched with worry, the afternoon sun shining like a halo behind his head and for a moment Seungcheol couldn’t breathe. He opened his mouth but nothing came out, so he nodded.

“Are you sure?” the guy asked again. Seungcheol nodded again.

“Jeonghan! Is he okay?” One of the players shouted from the field. The guy turned back to them and flashed a thumbs--up.

“Alright, come on, then. We don’t have all day.”

The guy, Jeonghan, turned back to Seungcheol. “I have to go. I’m really sorry again,” he said, standing up and jogging back to the field.

The four others simply watched Seungcheol, who still had his eyes on Jeonghan.

Jun waved his hands in front of Seungcheol. “I think he hit his head pretty hard.”

Seungcheol slowly turned his head to face them. “Oh my God,” he whispered. “I’m so gay.”

Minghao smacked him upside the head. Jun grinned, while Mingyu and Wonwoo raised their fists in support.

**

“Have you seen Jeonghan today? HE LET HIS HAIR DOWN. My literal angel,” Seungcheol told them at the cafeteria table the next day. 

Minghao groaned. “Just go talk to him, Cheol. Like, ask for his number or something. I’ve had enough of your Jeonghan-is-an-angel-he-is-so-cute speeches, and you only met him yesterday,” he said.

“True, that,” Jun said, sliding into the vacant chair beside Minghao and moving it closer. “Although Cheollie here would be too tongue-tied to say anything more than hey.”

Wonwoo snickered. “I can actually picture that happening.”

Seungcheol was still staring over at Jeonghan’s table, where he could see the object of his affections laughing with his friends. The long-haired boy brushed his hair off his cheek and if he listened hard enough, he would hear Seungcheol’s heart going into overdrive.

“Hey, how was your long test?” Wonwoo softly muttered to Mingyu who was slouched on the seat beside him.

“Bad,” Mingyu said, biting into his cheeseburger with a frown. “I messed up two or ten of the solutions,” he continued, chewing loudly.

Wonwoo sighed then used a finger to close Mingyu’s mouth. 

“If it helps, the new video game I bought came in today,” Wonwoo said, turning back to his food.

Mingyu perked up. “Really? Can I stay over again?” Wonwoo nodded.

“Wonu-ya, you’re the best!” Mingyu exclaimed.

Seungcheol, Minghao and Jun shared a look. Mingyu giving Wonwoo a nickname was cute. And hella gay, but they’re not gonna admit that out loud.

**

A few weeks later, they were all gathered at a large table near the back of the library, notes and textbooks spread across them as they crammed their brains off for next week’s exams. Jun looked like he was about to cry as he reread the same paragraph for the last five minutes. Minghao noticed and marked the page on his textbook before helping the other. Seungcheol was busy doodling on the back of his notebook, apparently having finished going over his lecture notes yesterday. Wonwoo and Mingyu were passing highlighters back and forth, Mingyu rubbing his eyes tiredly.

It was half past two am when they all decided to turn in, stuffing their notes into their backpacks and sluggishly making their way back to their dorms. Seungcheol was so tired he couldn’t even apologize properly to a fair few people he bumped into along the way (there were five of them, and were in a worse state as he was).

“Hey,” a voice called form behind him. Seungcheol looked back and his eyes widened a bit when he saw Jeonghan leaning on one of the doors. He was suddenly wide awake.

“Rough night?” Jeonghan asked.

“Uhh.. what? Um.. Yeah. I guess. I mean, yes, I’m gonna be dead,” Seungcheol babbled. Jeonghan laughed and Seungcheol could almost thank his stupidity.

“Don’t work yourself too much. You can do it,” Jeonghan said, making a victory fist pump.

Seungcheol may or may not have squealed. He cleared his throat.

“I uh, yeah, thank you. So much. I won’t. I mean, I can. I mean I won’t overwork.. And I can do.. whatever. Um, okay,” he ended his pathetic mumbling with a weak thumbs up. He could almost hear his friends cringe when he tells them about this later.

But Jeonghan just smiled at him. “Well, you better get some sleep, then,” he said softly. An angel.

“Good night, Jeonghan,” Seungcheol waved as Jeonghan opened the door to his room where he was leaning against.

“Oh, wait, I don’t know your name,” he said, hand on the doorknob.

“Um. Cheol. Seung. Seungcheol. Choi Seungcheol.”

“Well, good night, Seungcheol.”

Seungcheol floated back to his room, grinning widely.

**

Minghao was in the library, typing up an essay for class. Or trying to. He’s been stuck with the same paragraph for the past twenty minutes. He was contemplating whether or not to just go back to their dorm when a coffee cup was placed in front of him. He turned to his side to see Jun holding another one, who then moved to sit in the empty chair next to him.

“Hey, Hao,” Jun said. “You look like you’re about to die,” he teased. Minghao glared at him.

“Still cute, though,” Jun continued.

“Would you please stop,” Minghao said, annoyed. Jun sighed then moved the coffee cup towards Minghao.

“I won’t pay you back for this,” Minghao said, downing the cup.

“I’m not expecting you to,” Jun said softly, wiping the edge of Minghao’s mouth.

They stared at each other for a few moments before Jun cleared his throat and stood up.

“Well, I better go. Just dropped by to give that to you. Um.. Good luck with that paper,” he said, smiling. “And don’t tire yourself out.”

He was a few steps away when he heard Minghao call out a low “thanks”.

**

“Where’s Jun? We haven’t seen him in days,” Mingyu asked Minghao, who had a noticeably empty chair next to him.

“I don’t know,” Minghao answered, annoyed. Because since when did Jun become a permanent part of their friendship circle? And since when did he care that Jun wasn’t around to annoy him with unfunny jokes or send him memes with cringey texts? That idiot must have gotten tired of annoying Minghao like he always does, Minghao thinks. Isn’t that a good thing?

“Hey, chill. Finals are coming, he’s probably busy studying or doing homework,” Wonwoo said placatingly. 

“He can do whatever he wants,” Minghao wanted his voice to not sound angry because it’s true, but the fact that Jun never went a day without talking to or seeing him and now it’s been four days of nothing bothers him a lot.

Seungcheol hummed noncommittally.

**

A few days passed, and it was clear to Minghao that Jun was avoiding him. He saw the blonde on his way to class and instead of the usually bright smile that Jun would send his way, Jun ducked his head and avoided the other's gaze. He would find excuses to Mingyu's texts asking him to hang out.

Minghao was definitely not affected. Curious as to why Jun was avoiding him, yes, but that was all. He did not miss the blonde Chinese who somehow wormed his way into Minghao's life by being insufferably flirty and annoying. Or so he tells himself.

Seungcheol and the others noticed, of course (except for Mingyu because he's terribly oblivious). They were aware of the empty seat beside Minghao's when they were eating at the cafeteria though nobody says anything (again, except for Mingyu, who wondered loudly why Jun wasn't around, and was he absent in class earlier? Wonwoo smacked him on the shoulder). They were also aware that Minghao became grumpier, as in he would glare at air while chewing on his cheeseburger or he would slam the doors even though there's absolutely no need to.

**

It was a couple of weeks since Jun began avoiding them, and they were hanging out at the cafeteria after classes.

"Hey, Wonu," Mingyu blurted suddenly, his voice unreasonably loud. Wonwoo glared at him as he placed a bookmark on the book he was reading.

"What, Gyu?"

"Do you think Minghao would cave in first, or Jun?"

Wonwoo had finally clued him in a few days before on their friends' situation after seeing Mingyu on the verge of tears out of fear. Minghao had walked out on them when Mingyu asked innocently if anyone had invited Jun over that night.

Wonwoo smiled at Mingyu's question.

"Wanna bet on it?" Wonwoo answered.

"Yeah, that'd be cool! Loser treats the winner to everything for a whole weekend," Mingyu excitedly said.

"Hey, I'm in!" Seungcheol said beside them.

"Guys, I'm right here," Minghao deadpanned.

"Great, then you can join us, too!" Mingyu said. Seungcheol and Wonwoo looked at him for a moment before shaking their heads.

"You know what, fine," Minghao said. Seungcheol grinned widely.

"Okay. I vote for Jun," Mingyu said, one hand raised as if in class.

"Minghao," Wonwoo said, grinning at the boy.

"I go for Minghao, too," Seungcheol said.

"You're just making this easy for Mingyu and me to win," Minghao said, loudly chewing on his chips.

"Okay, so now what?" Mingyu asked.

"We wait for Jun to cave in first and talk to me," Minghao nonchalantly answered.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Seungcheol teased, then laughed as Minghao threw a chip at him.

Mingyu threw Wonwoo a chip as well, smiling when Wonwoo just looked at him, then turned back to his book.

"Oh my God," Seungcheol half-whispered, eyes wide as he stared at the doorway. Everybody turned to where he was looking.

Sure enough, Jeonghan was entering the cafeteria with the other members of the soccer team, his long hair out of its ponytail and waving freely with the wind.

Jeonghan waved, smiling, at Seungcheol and the others as he walked past.

"Oh my God," Seungcheol said again, burying his face in his arms to hide the fierce blush in his cheeks.

Minghao patted his shoulder.

**

It was a Friday night, and the four of them were coming out of a bar.

Mingyu and Seungcheol were already quite drunk as they stumbled past the doorway, Minghao and Wonwoo doing their best to keep them from faceplanting onto the sidewalk. The bar was only a few blocks away from their dorms so they all walked.

"Wonu. Where's your comb?" Mingyu asked, his words slurring a bit.

"You don't need one, Gyu. Your hair's perfectly fine," Wonwoo muttered, arms around the taller boy as he helped him walk.

"Noooo.. I mean your..comb. It's cold.. You should have a comb," Mingyu said, which didn't make any sense to Wonwoo.

They all just carried on walking. After a couple of steps, Mingyu wriggled himself out of Wonwoo's grasp (with difficulty) and stared into the other's eyes.

"Wonu. Where's your comb?" He repeated again. Wonwoo could hear Minghao stifling laughter while Seungcheol, who seemed to be sobering up slightly, looked on curiously.

"Gyu, let's just keep walking okay? I'll give you a comb when we get back to the dorm," Wonwoo said.

Mingyu shook his head. "Not a comb," he whined. Wonwoo sighed.

"Then what?"

Mingyu took off his coat, then put it on over Wonwoo, who was taken aback. He admittedly had worn only a jacket over his shirt when they went out but he wasn't really cold at the moment.

"There.. now we can go," Mingyu said, patting Wonwoo's shoulders before resuming his walking. Wonwoo sighed and shook his head fondly.

Minghao looked at them with a smile from where he and Seungcheol were standing behind them, before following the two.

**

They were at the field on Monday, watching a soccer game between their team and the school a few towns over. Minghao was decidedly bored, as he always was with sports, while Mingyu cheered with the crowd. Wonwoo was quietly watching, while Seungcheol was hyped whenever Jeonghan so much as breathed.

It was right about the second half of the game when a player from the opposing team grabbed Jeonghan's ponytail, causing him to fall. The ball that he was kicking towards the goal was stolen by the other team. Groans of disbelief were heard throughout the field and Seungcheol was mad.

"Did you see what he did? My Jeonghan was fouled! I can't believe this! The referee ought to kick him out! I swear, if I see him again after the game I'm gonna kick his ass."

That went on for about fifteen more minutes and Minghao had to clamp his hand over Seungcheol's mouth to get him to stop talking.

"I'm telling you! That was a dick move! I bet Jeonghan's feeling so bad right now. Where did the other team go? I wanna have a talk with him. Or like, get straight to the point and punch him," Seungcheol was ranting as they walked away from the field and back to their dorms. The other three were rolling their eyes but they know better than to stop him when he's on a roll.

"I am so mad right now! How could he do that to Jeonghan? The Jeonghan?"

"Um, Cheol," Mingyu started.

"I know he's way out of my league but I really had never seen someone as beautiful. Ahh, how dare anyone try to hurt him?" Seungcheol said. His eyes had taken on that fond, dreamy look he always does when he's thinking about Jeonghan. Which was a lot.

"Seungcheol," Wonwoo said.

"And his hair!" Seungcheol exclaimed. "Oh my God, his hair is gorgeous. He's gorgeous. I'm fucking in love-"

"Hey, Seungcheol," a heavenly voice that Seungcheol instantly recognized cut him off.

He turned around and there Jeonghan was in all his beautifully-haired gorgeous glory, smiling at him.

Seungcheol might have let out a very unmanly squeak before he promptly fell to the ground, his body thumping to the floor as his friends watched wide-eyed. Minghao, Wonwoo and Mingyu stifled their laughter before checking up on him.

"Oh my God, is he okay?" He heard Jeonghan ask, worried face hovering over him. He blacked out.

**

Jun was right there.

Minghao had been on his day back to the dorm after a lecture and stopped in his tracks when he saw Jun up ahead, laughing and talking with someone he doesn't know. It made his blood boil because the idiot couldn't be bothered to let them know why he's avoiding them when it's clear he's found himself a new clique. Not that Jun's been totally a part of their group then, but still. He was mad. 

And so Minghao headed towards the other, who still hadn't seen him because he was too busy chattering with the guys at his side. He was a few steps away when Jun finally caught his eye, and he can see the blond look taken aback for a second before side-eyeing his friends. Minghao narrowed his eyes.

"We need to talk," Minghao gritted out, and his tone coupled with his glare left no room for argument. Jun's friends bid him goodbye and see you later's and Jun looked like he would rather be with them than have a talk with Minghao but he stayed.

He followed Minghao to an empty hallway, head down as Minghao faced him with arms crossed.

"You've been avoiding us," Minghao stated. "Explain."

Jun winced slightly at the harsh tone.

"Um.."

Minghao tapped his foot against the tiles, the sound echoing in its stillness.

"Hao, it's.. It's not any of your fault. It's me," Jun started.

"The fuck?"

Jun looked like he wanted to laugh or he was having a stomachache. Probably both. He took a deep breath.

"I'm aware that.. I might have been forcing myself, my friendship.. upon you guys," he said, looking into Minghao's eyes. "And I know I can be too annoying, and irritating, and I figured it might be best if I stay away."

"Okay, yes, you're annoying, but we let you stay. We hung out with you, we considered you our friend. Your excuses are bullshit."

"But you never liked me, Hao," Jun said softly. "I'm not blind, nor am I an idiot. You're irritated by my presence, it's almost like you hated me," he gave a bitter laugh at this, and Minghao's chest tightened.

"I tolerated you, Jun," Minghao said, his voice quiet. "That's not something I'd do for anyone else. And it's fine if you don't want to become my friend anymore. If you don't like me then that's fine. Just.. The guys really care for you. You can stop being my friend but please don't stop being theirs," Minghao said, brushing past Jun and bumping his shoulder slightly as he walked away, tears threatening to fall. But they didn't. He didn't look back, and if he did, he would have seen the other looking at him sadly.

**

Seungcheol hadn't recovered from the Fainting Fiasco. It was a few days later and he was still taking careful measures to not bump into the object of his affections (which included but are not limited to him jumping slightly out of his skin and ducking his head down tables or hiding his face whenever he caught sight of a certain long-haired angel).

This had not gone unnoticed by his friends, of course. Mingyu and Wonwoo would laugh at him, and Minghao would roll his eyes good-naturedly, but they didn't miss the way Jeonghan's eyes would linger on the back of Seungcheol's head.

They met up by the hallway near one of the lecture halls where Mingyu just came from, heading to a coffee shop on campus. Suddenly, Mingyu shouted, "Hey, Jeonghan!" Seungcheol promptly hid behind a potted plant while the three laughed their heads off, especially when there was a lack of long-haired gorgeous people walking the hallways. Seungcheol just glared at them but they continued walking.

They rounded a corner, and there was Jeonghan. Seungcheol stopped in his tracks, eyes wide but he couldn't hide anymore. Jeonghan was looking at him.

"Hey, Seungcheol. Hey, guys," Jeonghan greeted them.

"Jeonghan, your hair.." Mingyu said.

Jeonghan laughed, touching his obviously-shorter-now hair.

"Yeah, I had it cut yesterday. Saves me from misgendering and game fouls, you know?" He said. 

"You look good no matter your hairstyle, though," Mingyu pointed out.

"Thank you. Well, I have to go to practice now. See you around," Jeonghan said, waving at them. He let his eyes linger on Seungcheol for a moment, the other boy still staring at him with an open mouth.

"His gorgeous hair.." Seungcheol said in a small voice about twenty minutes later when they were in the coffee shop.

"You know, I'm starting to think you only liked Jeonghan for his hair," Minghao teased him.

Seungcheol sighed.

"Oh my God, Seungcheol, that's so shallow of you," Mingyu said.

"It's not that, okay?" Seungcheol said. "I just.. I'm having a lot of thoughts right now and Jeonghan is.. Perfect, as always," he said dreamily.

"Ugh, my coffee's getting too sweet," Minghao complains. Suddenly, the door to the coffee shop chimed, signaling a newcomer. Minghao's eyes widened when he recognized Jun's blond hair, the too-big sweater he's wearing Minghao recognized as one of the blond's favorites.

"Hey, guys," Jun said, voice small but Minghao could hear the smile in it as the former approached their table, coffee in hand.

"Jun! Finally, you showed your face again. How have you been?" Seungcheol grinned at him.

"Fine," he said. "I've just been, uh, busy with.. stuff," he said, smiling at everyone. His eyes met Minghao's, and he looked down awkwardly at his coffee.

"And here I was, thinking Minghao might have finally scared you off," Mingyu teased, unaware that Jun's body tensed slightly and Minghao choked quietly on his drink. Seungcheol and Wonwoo noticed, however, but decided not to comment on it.

"Oh, haha," Jun fake-laughed. 

**

"Where are you guys going?" Seungcheol and Minghao asked. They were headed for Mingyu and Wonwoo's room to hang out but apparently the two had plans.

"We're going out," Mingyu said, grinning. Minghao and Seungcheol shared a look, then sighed.

"You brats, making plans without us," Seungcheol said, smiling. "Well, have fun," he waved at the two.

"Bring me pizza," Minghao added as he and Seungcheol turned back, heading for the cafeteria to slack off.

"Hey, guys," a voice greeted them a few steps later. From the voice and the way his heartbeat raced, Seungcheol knew it was Jeonghan. He turned his head to the right and sure enough, there was his angel, in his now-blond, short-haired glory.

"Oh. Hey, Jeonghan! How are you?" Minghao greeted the other, smiling. He didn't notice Seungcheol freezing up beside him.

"Fine, practice just ended. I'm headed towards the cafeteria right now, I'm famished," Jeonghan said, patting his stomach laughingly.

"Oh, we're headed there, too! You can come sit with us, if you're alone," Minghao said, side-eyeing Seungcheol as if waiting for him to oppose.

"If that's okay with you," Jeonghan said, looking at Seungcheol for a brief second. The latter nodded (a bit dazedly), and so they set off.

They were at the cafeteria, halfway through their snacks. Minghao and Jeonghan were talking about the basketball team and the game they saw two days ago. Seungcheol was quietly picking on his food, not talking the entire time. Jeonghan was eyeing him from time to time but continued talking.

Finally, Seungcheol couldn't take it anymore. He hastily gathered his things, murmuring something about a forgotten homework that he needs to finish before saying goodbye, never once looking in Jeonghan's direction.

Minghao stared at his retreating back confusedly, because Seungcheol was done with his homework for the week. He then guessed it must be the Jeonghan effect on him still.

They both missed the confused but definitely crestfallen look on Jeonghan's face.

**

Jun had slowly started to hang out with the four of them again, but it was clear that it was not the same as before. For starters, there was the lack of flirting directed towards Minghao, or any interaction towards said boy for that matter. 

"Hao, are you okay? You've been awfully quiet," Seungcheol commented as they ate.

"I'm fine. Just got a bunch of homework I still need to finish," Minghao dismissed with a forced smile. He didn't look at Jun beside him, nor did he notice the slight tensing of his body before Minghao answered.

"Well, okay then," Mingyu grinned at him, ever the positive one. "Hey, do you guys wanna go to this coffee shop that just opened near that Chinese restaurant? Wonu and I wanted to check it out."

"When, though?" Seungcheol asked.

"Tomorrow afternoon, since it's a Saturday," came Wonwoo's reply. Seungcheol nodded at him.

"Yeah, I wanna go, too," Minghao said.

Jun spoke up beside him. "I might have to bail on this one. I promised my roommate and his friend we'd go to the movies."

"Aww, that's okay," Mingyu smiled at him.

Minghao scoffed into his drink.

"Yeah, I'm sure you'd have a greater time with them anyway," he muttered bitterly.

Nobody knew how to respond to that, and for a few awkward moments Jun just sat beside him looking guilty as hell.

Minghao pointedly avoided his friends' gazes as he stood up, murmuring something about homework and texting them later before walking away.

"What was that?" Wonwoo asked.

They all looked at Jun expectantly, whose face had fallen while still staring at the direction Minghao went. Jun sighed, then noticed the others were still staring at him. He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Um," he said. Mingyu blinked at him, urging him to continue.

"Okay, so you know how I've been trying to get close to you all but especially Minghao? And how he loves driving me away?" Jun laughed humorlessly.

"Well, I can't keep pushing myself onto people who don't want me in their lives. It's why I didn't bother you guys for a few weeks."

"But we were your friends," Seungcheol said kindly.

"I know, and I feel terrible for doing that. It's just hard, you know?" He took a deep breath. "I really like Minghao," he mumbled. Then he looked at each of them, gauging their reactions.

Seungcheol smiled broadly at him. Wonwoo nodded his head and patted his back. Mingyu, however, continued blinking at him.

"I'm sorry, should I be surprised? We know, Jun. You weren't exactly subtle," Mingyu grinned at him, showing off his sharp teeth.

Jun let out a breath and smiled shakily.

"But a couple of days ago, I ran into Minghao. And he made me realize that it was wrong of me to just avoid you guys. I said some wrong things and now he hates me."

"No, he doesn't. He was hurt, sure, but he doesn't hate you," Wonwoo offered.

"I wouldn't be sure of that," Jun mumbled.

"Trust me, if he hates you, you would know."

Jun smiled a little at that.

**

Party at Jackson’s tonight, Mingyu texted. See u there!

Minghao sighed. He was dead-set on burying himself in his readings and hopefully get ahead of the requirements in his major, but he’s been cooped up in his room the past few days, he thinks he deserves a breather.

He replied with a thumbs up sign, then went to clean his desk before picking up what to wear.

**

Jun wanted to talk to Minghao. He’s been trying for the last couple of days, but it’s either Minghao was busy with school work that he didn’t have time to hang out with them or he hangs out with the group but stays as far from Jun as he can and leaving as early as he can. 

It’s been days and Jun was feeling very miserable. He fucked everything up and now he’s in someone’s party (having been dragged by both Wonwoo and Mingyu – the latter pestering him with a pleading voice that made Wonwoo cringe before saying “What he said.” And Jun couldn’t really argue with that) with a cup of questionable cocktail mix, trying to look for his friends.

**

The moment Minghao went inside Jackson’s house, a cup of beer was shoved into his hands. He went further into the living room, trying to look for his friends, but the DJ thought it was a good time to blast some new pop song that had everybody raising their hands, shouting and jumping around, so he was having a hard time. He decided to give up after a few minutes, thinking he’d run into them at some point during the night, and proceeded to the balcony up ahead.

It was just his luck that right next to the door was Jun (whose back was to him), talking to some girl.

Minghao was irritated. And maybe a bit irrational after downing the whole beer cup, because he went closer to them.

“-but no,” Jun was saying, and Minghao hated how his voice was so gentle.

“But why?” the girl whined. Minghao doesn’t recognize her, but she was quickly getting on his nerves. He didn’t notice that he’d crumpled the cup in his hand.

“My eyes and heart are reserved for someone,” Jun replied. “He makes my heart go wild with just a look, and he acts tough on the outside but I’ve seen how much he cares for others. Minghao is.. he’s.. Well, I might have fucked things up with him, but I really can’t tell my heart to back off.”

The girl looked taken aback for a moment, but then she draped her arms across Jun’s shoulders and Minghao sees red.

“Back off,” he snarled, and wrenched the girl away from Jun. She stalked off with a huff, with as much dignity as a drunken octopus could.

“Minghao,” Jun said. “Uh, hi…” He looks ready to bolt with his ears and cheeks turning red, and Minghao rolled his eyes.

“You’re a fucking idiot,” Minghao said. “You can say all of that behind my back, but all you can say to me is hi?”

Said idiot looked highly uncomfortable, then shocked, then sheepish. “You heard that? I-I swear I didn’t mean anything bad about it, it-it’s just.. I don’t-You’re you and.. I-I’m really sorry, Hao.. I mean, Minghao, I never should have forced myself upon you and I-I know I said some stupid things I’m really-Well, I like you, but if-if you don’t like me I’m okay with that.. I know it’s too much to ask to-to be friends again, but- but I-“

“Shut up, Jun,” Minghao cut him off, though he didn’t look the least bit pissed. Jun’s eyes widened.

“R-right.. I should, uh..” he gestured to somewhere behind Minghao’s back, intent on leaving.

He hasn’t taken more than a few steps when Minghao pulled his arms back, held his cheeks and kissed him.

Minghao thinks all the stars went to Jun’s eyes the moment their lips separated. He looked at him and smiled, and Minghao wants to kiss him again. So he does.

**

It wouldn’t be an understatement to say everybody’s eyes were on them the moment they stepped foot inside the cafeteria. It’s the Monday after the party and everybody’s in that sluggish state that Mondays usually bring, but not Mingyu, whose eyes lit up when he saw Junhui and Minghao approaching their table.

“You guys made up already?!” he says excitedly.

“You could say that,” Minghao says with a shrug, but there’s a small smile on his face. Jun just laughs a little at that.

“I didn’t see any of you at the party,” Seungcheol sulks. Jun and Minghao looked questioningly at Mingyu and Wonwoo, who merely shrugged.

“We were playing beer pong with Jackson’s friends but this dork,” he pointed to Mingyu, who sank in his chair in embarrassment, “had had two drinks and decided it would be nice to drag me back to my dorm and stay up watching Disney.”

Amidst the laughter Wonwoo’s explanation caused, Mingyu slurped loudly on his spaghetti and pointed accusingly at Minghao.

“Enough about me, I want to hear about you two! How did you guys become friends again?” Mingyu asked.

“Who says we’re friends?” Minghao offhandedly said. Everybody looked confused.

“I thought…” Seungcheol tried to say.

Jun rolls his eyes and slaps Minghao’s arm lightly. “He means we’re dating now.”

“Oh my God! Fucking finally! I’m so happy for you two!” Mingyu exclaimed loudly, standing and attempting to hug the two over the table.

“Mingyu, behave,” Wonwoo chides, making Mingyu pout but sit back on his chair. “Congratulations, you two.”

“You better not break each other’s hearts,” Seungcheol said with a proud smile on his face.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Jun said at the same time Minghao said, “of course not.”

Their friends cheered at that. They continued eating for a while, before Mingyu suddenly spoke.

“Oh my God, this makes Seungcheol the only single one in our group!”

Three pairs of eyes blinked at him.

“What he said,” Wonwoo says to no one in particular, grabbing a handful of fries from a plate. “You’re obviously in love with Jeonghan, he’s obviously interested in you. Why aren’t you doing anything?”

“Wait NO, hold on,” Seungcheol replied. He had risen a little from his seat. “What the fuck do you mean I’m the only one single here? You guys are in relationships too and you never told us?”

“What do you mean? We’re dating,” Mingyu said, pointing a thumb at Wonwoo.

Minghao’s eyebrows were raised high. Jun’s mouth was opened in shock. Seungcheol looked incredulous, and a little bit betrayed.

“Since when?”

“Um, since Valentine’s Day?” Mingyu said in between bites of his food. Wonwoo nodded in agreement.

“What the actual fuck,” Seungcheol murmured. “We’ve suspected you two have feelings for each other and here you are telling us you’ve been together for eight whole months now?”

“We’ve been going on dates all the time, going to the movies, cafes and hanging out at my dorm,” Wonwoo pointed out.

“You always do that, though,” Jun said.

“Yeah, but we made it official on Valentine’s Day,” Wonwoo replied, looking fondly at Mingyu, who was slurping the rest of his milkshake.

“You dorks,” Seungcheol said fondly. He gulps down the rest of his drink before pausing. “This makes me the fifth wheel, doesn’t it,” he said flatly.

The four just laughed at him.


	2. the one by my side is all I could ever want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu and Wonwoo's Valentine's Day (this is gonna be short)

It was Feb 14 and Wonwoo was lying in bed, having just finished a paper. He had removed his glasses the moment he was done, throwing it haphazardly on the desk while he lay starfished on the bed, eyes closed. Finally, he thought. I deserve a good eight hours of sleep. Maybe more. His phone buzzed with an incoming message from the desk, but he ignored it. I’ll talk to the guys later, he thought. Mingyu would probably want to go out for food.

He had about ten minutes of peace, five of which was spent falling into a shallow nap, when there was a knock on his door.

“Wonuuu,” Mingyu’s voice called out, before the door opened (rather rashly; Mingyu always opened doors like somebody’s pulling it closed on the other side. He’s long since used to it).

Wonwoo sighed before opening his eyes. His very tall friend was now seated at the edge of the bed, grinning at him.

“What do you want?” Wonwoo said, no bite in his words.

“Let’s get coffee, I’m bored,” Mingyu answered. Wonwoo thought there was no correlation to that whatsoever, but who was he to refuse? Not when Mingyu was looking at him like that.

“Alright, but you’re paying,” was all Wonwoo said before standing up, grabbing his phone, wallet, and keys from the desk.

Mingyu did a little head wiggle at that (which makes Wonwoo think the comparisons between his friend and a puppy are accurate) before opening the door.

They were on the way to the coffee shop, Wonwoo humming a song under his breath while Mingyu simply looked around at the people passing by, the shops and trees, when he turned to Wonwoo.

“Wonu, Happy Valentine’s day!”

Wonwoo was confused for a moment, before his mind registered the pink heart decorations on the cake shop they passed, as well as the couples holding hands in front of them.

“Oh.. Happy Valentine’s day, Gyu,” Wonwoo greeted back. His chest felt warm when Mingyu smiled at him, a wide one that tells Wonwoo his frined is really happy.

They arrived at the coffee shop, which was now mostly packed. There was a sign advertising a couple’s discount on coffee and cake slices, which Wonwoo ignored.

“Hey, let’s go see that movie you were talking about two days ago,” Wonwoo said as they approached the counter, remembering Mingyu shoving his phone one night under his nose to show him a trailer of some new action movie franchise (which was somehow related to the one they watched a couple of months ago with their friends).

Mingyu’s eyes lit up at that. “Okay! Should we take the coffee to go, then?” Wonwoo nodded at that.

They reached the cashier, Mingyu reciting their orders from memory while Wonwoo scrolled through his phone for the movie’s screening time.

Both of them didn’t notice the cashier looking at them with a small smile, and Mingyu usually doesn’t count his change so he never noticed their bill was smaller than usual.

The movie ended three hours later (Wonwoo paid for both their tickets and food, which had Mingyu ordering the biggest portions on the menu and thanking Wonwoo with a weird dance that Wonwoo found endearing. Not that he’d ever admit it out loud. Nor would he admit that he spent most of the movie casting side glances at Mingyu, just so he could see Mingyu’s little reactions he always found more interesting than any other movie). Mingyu and Wonwoo walked side by side on their way back to Wonwoo’s dorm (Mingyu’s dorm is on the other side of the campus, but he always took Wonwoo back first ever since the dog incident during their first year).

Mingyu was typing a message on his phone when Wonwoo looked over.

“Who are you texting?” he asked.

“Minseo,” Mingyu replied. Wonwoo smiled. 

“You’re spoiling the ending for your sister again, aren’t you?”

“Uh-huh,” Mingyu murmured before clicking send. Then he grinned at Wonwoo.

“She asked what I did today. Apparently she’s on a date with someone from her class,” Mingyu rolled his eyes fondly. “Guess what she said.”

“What?” Wonwoo humored him.

“She said they went to a coffee shop, then watched a movie. I told her we’re doing the same thing!”

Wonwoo laughed. “That’s a crazy coincidence.” His heart gave a slight twinge, but he didn’t let it show.

They reached the door to Wonwoo’s room. “Hey, thanks for coming along with me. I just didn’t want to stay inside my dorm all day,” Mingyu sheepishly said.

“Hey, it’s okay. I had fun. I was honestly just planning to sleep all day after doing my paper.”

“Oh, you finished it already? That’s good!” Wonwoo nodded at that, mind going back to the day he had.

“What are you thinking about?” Mingyu said when Wonwoo hasn’t said anything for a while. They were still standing in front of Wonwoo’s door.

“Nothing. Just, how this day went. It was nice.”

“Mm, I think so, too. Now I’m imagining my sister going home after her ‘date’,” Mingyu said, hands forming air quotes at the word date. Wonwoo chuckled.

“Bet he’s going to give her a kiss in front of your house,” Wonwoo teased, knowing how protective Mingyu can get with his little sister.

Mingyu huffed.

“Shall I also kiss you goodbye?” Wonwoo continued teasing him. He was taken aback when Mingyu looked at him seriously.

“Yeah, if you want to,” Mingyu said in a low voice. Wonwoo wouldn’t have heard it if they weren’t standing so close. 

They were looking at each other for a few moments, neither of them speaking. Wonwoo was sure Mingyu could hear his heart beating abnormally loudly (can Mingyu hear it? Wonwoo was freaking out a little). Mingyu abruptly stepped away, then coughed awkwardly.

“Uhh.. I should go back to my dorm. Thanks for today, again. See you tomorrow, or later if we’re still on for dinner with Minghao and Seungcheol. Uh, bye,” Mingyu hurriedly said, turning to go.

He didn’t have a chance to, though. Wonwoo held his arm back, making Mingyu face him again.

“Okay,” was all Wonwoo said. Mingyu’s eyes were wide.

“Okay what?” he said. 

Wonwoo shook his head with a small smile before holding Mingyu’s face with both his hands.

His hands were definitely shaking but Wonwoo hoped Mingyu wouldn’t mind as he pulled Mingyu down, their lips touching.

He pulled away after a few moments, an apology ready in case Mingyu regrets offering or walks out.

Neither of those things happen, because Mingyu held his waist and pulled him closer for another kiss.

**

It wasn’t anything grand, nor was it planned. It just hit Wonwoo like a rushing ocean wave, one afternoon a couple of months after the fourteenth of February.

Mingyu had went over to his room earlier with pasta he cooked for lunch. Wonwoo thinks Mingyu is an amazing cook, and a very thoughtful boyfriend.

He finished washing the dishes and came back to his bed to find Mingyu playing games on his phone, feet dangling off the end of the bed because he’s too tall. The afternoon sunlight peaked in through the blinds, hitting his face, causing Mingyu to squint.

His eyes looked up at Wonwoo when he heard his footsteps coming closer. Wonwoo heard the faint sound of Mingyu’s character dying in-game as Mingyu smiled at him, opening his mouth to say something, but Wonwoo beat him to it.

“I love you,” he said. Mingyu’s cheeks reddened slightly as he stared at Wonwoo, eyes wide.

“I mean, I don’t know why I said that so suddenly but uh.. Just.. You know. I-I do,” Wonwoo rambled on. Mingyu stood up to where he was, arms enveloping Wonwoo into a hug.

“I love you too, baby,” Mingyu whispered into his ear. Wonwoo melted a little at that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, I'm so soft for Minwon. They're one of the first ships I loved in SEVENTEEN. Anyway, keep reading for Cheol and Han.


	3. you caught my eye and my heart is yours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seungcheol and Jeonghan's side story with a bit of the other couples being soft (also short)

Wonwoo and Mingyu finished telling their story, and their three friends cooed at them. They were in the cafeteria for lunch, and it took a lot of prompting (on Seungcheol and Jun’s side; Minghao was peeling orange slices, feeding some of them to Jun) to get them to share how they got together because everyone else was still pretty shocked.

“Damn, that was adorable. But why didn’t you guys say anything?” Jun asked them.

“Nobody asked,” was what Mingyu replied. The other three rolled their eyes at that. Wonwoo just grinned at them.

“We thought it was obvious,” Wonwoo commented. He looked at Mingyu, who looked back at him, smiling.

Seungcheol rolled his eyes. “Okay, I get it, lovebirds. Stop being gross now,” he said.

Minghao slapped his arm. “Don’t think you’ve escaped the scrutiny just yet. Why are you avoiding Jeonghan? The poor guy’s been asking about you,” he said.

Seungcheol groaned miserably. “He’s Jeonghan,” he said, as if that was the reason for everything.

His friends just sighed.

“Okay, look,” Seungcheol said, voice rising a little. “I’m practically in love with the guy, alright? He’s very kind, he doesn’t mind when I’m being a fool in front of him, which I am because I don’t know how to act around him, and he makes me feel all kinds of things with just his smile or when he says my name, you know? And.. well.. He’s all that, and I’m-“

“Perfect,” a voice came from behind them. Seungcheol’s eyes widened because he’d know that voice anywhere, and if he heard all that, then Seungcheol is so-

“I think I’m dying,” Seungcheol said in a tiny voice. His friends snickered, clearly enjoying this.

“Don’t be dramatic,” Jeonghan said, coming to stand in front of him. “And don’t you dare faint or run away from me again,” he said, before smiling at Seungcheol.

Seungcheol felt like he couldn’t breathe. Jeonghan was in front of him, looking at him, and his mouth was stuttering.

“I- uh.. You.. What-.. Huh. Um. Jeonghan. Hi.. Why..” He gulped, then blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“Date me.” His eyes widened after saying that, and he could feel his face heating up.

Jeonghan gave a small laugh before placing a hand on his cheek.

“Honey, I thought you’d never ask.”

**

After a couple of months, the six friends were sitting by the field. Jeonghan had just finished practice, and Seungcheol was wiping off his sweat before offering him some sandwiches.

Minghao was sitting with his back to Junhui’s chest. He and Jun were annotating one of the required readings for Minghao’s class, and every once in a while, they’d take a break and eat some of the chips they’d bought.

Mingyu was lying with his head on Wonwoo’s lap across from them, Wonwoo’s hand running across his hair when Mingyu suddenly sat up.

“Guys! Who won the bet?” He exclaimed.

“What bet?” Jun asked, eyebrows knitting in confusion. Minghao groaned, his head resting on his boyfriend’s shoulder.

“Why did I even agree to that in the first place,” he muttered. Mingyu groaned at that, having realized they lost.

“Great! Minghao, you owe me a weekend’s worth of beers,” he said, grinning widely. Jeonghan, having been caught on to the said bet, grinned knowingly at Minghao.

“Cheeseburgers,” Wonwoo said. “I want cheeseburgers.” 

Mingyu made a cute face at his boyfriend. “Will you share it with me?”

“No,” Wonwoo replied. Mingyu pouted at that, but he lay back down. Wonwoo’s hand came to rest on his hair again.

Minghao was still bemoaning his loss.

“What bet?” Jun asked again.

“I hate you,” Minghao told him.

“No, you don’t,” Jun replied cheekily.

“No, I don’t,” Minghao agreed.

“What bet, though?” Minghao groaned at that.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! It took me a while to finish this, it's been sitting in my drafts for months lmao. Anyway, pls continue to hype SEVENTEEN and stream My My! (and Us, Again because it's so beautiful)
> 
> All the love X


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